Madigan a pawn for father, says Blagojevich

June 04, 2004|By John Chase and Ray Long, Tribune staff reporters.

Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan has declared unconstitutional a plan by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to raise cash for the state by mortgaging the showcase Thompson Center in downtown Chicago, prompting the governor to accuse the state's top lawyer Thursday of using her office to front for her father in a high-stakes budget fight among top Democrats.

Blagojevich hoped to use the mortgage to raise more than $200 million to help close a budget gap. Madigan's opinion--issued late Wednesday but not disclosed until Thursday--threatens the future of the deal, which had been expected to close this week.

The administration said the mortgage, which would have cost the state $360 million to finance over 20 years, has been put on hold at least temporarily as options are reviewed.

The Democratic governor and Madigan's father, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, are on opposite sides of an increasingly bitter and personal dispute over legislative agendas and control of the party that has delayed agreement on a state-spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Though Lisa Madigan's opinion on the Thompson Center deal was sought by a Republican lawmaker and cited constitutional grounds, Blagojevich made it clear that he considered her just a pawn in his battle with her father.

"It's her father, you know, I can't fault her," Blagojevich said. "I don't want to get involved in a family deal here, but you know it's her father. I've got two daughters. I hope they back me on stuff that I do."

Blagojevich's comments ratcheted up an already tense battle with Michael Madigan that could delay progress toward reaching a budget agreement well into this month--if not past the beginning of the new fiscal year. That could threaten public assistance benefits to the poor, state reimbursements for health-care to providers and paychecks to state employees.

"It speaks more to the pathetic, simplistic world the governor sometimes lives in," said Michael Madigan's spokesman, Steve Brown.

But the fallout resonated far beyond his immediate foe. The governor has positioned himself as a champion of women's issues, but his attack on Lisa Madigan triggered a firestorm of resentment from female lawmakers of both parties who quickly jumped to her defense.

"She is not carrying water for her father," said state Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston). "She is the attorney general for the state of Illinois."

"He is a complete Neanderthal, and I think it's a complete insult to women," said state Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) of Blagojevich. "She's a professional. There are a lot of professional women, and we don't necessarily do what our fathers and husbands say."

State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, who also is head of the state Republican Party, called Blagojevich's remarks "shameful and chauvinistic" and said the governor should apologize to not just Madigan but to all women in the state.

The governor's office was not backing down.

"The attorney general's decision was politically motivated and had nothing to do with the substance of the mortgage deal," said Abby Ottenhoff, a spokeswoman for Blagojevich. "And the governor called it what it is. And now even the response is politically motivated and completely avoids discussing the rationale behind the decision that would result in $200 million to help fund schools, health care and other state services."

Melissa Merz, a spokeswoman for Lisa Madigan, denied the allegations from the governor and his aide, noting that rendering opinions on the propriety of legislative acts was one of the attorney general's duties. "As the state's chief legal officer, the attorney general must ensure that the governor adhere to the requirements of the constitution," Merz said.

Such opinions from Madigan are not binding, but indicate that the state's chief legal officer believes a law could not withstand a court challenge if one were mounted.

Though most legislation requires only a simple majority of the House and Senate for approval, Madigan noted in her opinion that the Illinois Constitution requires a special three-fifths vote on measures that authorize new state borrowing. Ironically, Michael Madigan was a sponsor of the Thompson Center bill, which passed his chamber 72-44, one vote more than needed to meet the three-fifths mandate.

But the Senate passed the bill by a 33-25 margin, three votes short of the number needed to attain three-fifths approval.

Blagojevich aides disagreed with Lisa Madigan's interpretation of the three-fifths rule. But former University of Illinois law professor Ron Rotunda, an expert on the state constitution, sided with Madigan's view.

"The framers [of the constitution] created this rule to be airtight," Rotunda said. "The only way the framers could have been any clearer would be to add a sentence at the end of the clause that says, `We really mean it.'"